Apparatus for winding flexible sheet material into a roll



v Filed May 12, 196'? Jan. 28, 1969 w KENNEDY 3,424,397

APPARATUS FOR WINDING FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL INTO A ROLL Sheet of 2 Qa w, 2 1M444 am Jan. 28, 1969 Filed May 12, 1967 W. D. KENNEDY AFPARATUS FOR WINDING FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL INTO A ROLL Sheet 2 United States Patent 21,794/ 66 U.S. Cl. 24276 Int. Cl. B65h 27/00 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for winding a length of towelling into a roll which comprises a driven mandrel onto which the towelling is wound and a guide bar which is capable of controlling the position along the length of the mandrel at which the towelling is wound.

This invention relates to winding apparatus.

According to the invention apparatus for winding a length of flexible sheet material into a roll comprises a mandrel onto which the strip is to be wound, means for rotating the mandrel, a guide bar located in the path of the strip and around which the strip is deflected, which guide bar lies transverse to the path of the strip, and means for pivoting the guide bar about a fixed point, the arrangement being such that the pivoting action of the guide bar controls the position along the length of the mandrel at which the strip is wound. It is found that this pivoting action of the guide bar acts to minimise the wandering of the width of the strip being wound in relation to the length of the mandrel.

In one form of the invention the guide bar is pivoted about a point intermediate its ends.

Preferably the guide bar is pivoted in one direction by a single-acting air jack and is urged by spring means in or towards the other direction. In this case, the air jack may be controlled by a diaphragm operated change-over valve. Such a valve is capable of either effecting extension (or retraction) of the air jack, and hence pivoting of the guide bar in one direction, when an air pressure is applied to the diaphragm, or allowing retraction (or extension) of the air jack by the opposed spring-pressure when the air pressure on the diaphragm is removed, the guide bar then being pivoted in the other direction.

Preferably the diaphragm of the said change-over valve is air-operated and the path of the air supply for the said diaphragm at least partially intersects the path of the strip being wound at some time during the period that the guide bar is pivoted in the said one direction by the air jack, the said intersection cutting-off the air supply for the diaphragm and thereby allowing the state of the air jack to be changed and the guide bar to be pivoted in the other direction by the aforesaid spring means.

The construction of the winding apparatus is preferably such that during the winding of a length of strip material into a roll, the guide bar oscillates between its extreme positions.

By way of example, a specific embodiment in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus for winding a length of towelling around a mandrel into a roll;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1, the mandrel and the supporting bench being removed;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of part of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a section along line 55 in FIGURE 2.

The subject of this example is apparatus for winding lengths of towelling which constitute the towels used in continuous feed towel cabinets and is useful for the production of a neatly wound roll. More specifically, in this example, the length of towelling or towel being wound has just been washed and is being fed from the drying unit of a washing apparatus to the winding apparatus.

The winding apparatus is mounted on a bench 9 and includes a mandrel 10 around which the towel 12 is wound into a roll 8, which mandrel is driven by an electric motor 11. In the path of the towel there is positioned a transverse guide bar or roller 13 which engages one surface of the towel and which deflects it through an angle (the angle, in this example, being substantially This guide roller 13 is mounted between the upturned ends of a bracket 22, the web of the bracket in turn being rigidly mounted on the top end of a vertical pivot spindle 14 (see especially FIGURE 2). Rotation of this pivot spindle 14 about a vertical axis will hence move the guide roller into an inclined position with respect of the path of the towel 12. Such pivotal movement of the guide roller will deflect the towel to one side or the other along the length of the guide roller and hence counteract any tendency of the towel to wander from the desired path.

Adjacent each end of the bracket 22, there is a downwardly projecting member 25, 30, each member passing through a slot 40 in the bench 9 which slots extend on either side of the guide roller in a direction substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the guide roller 13 and which thereby allow lateral movement of the members with the bracket.

In this example, the lengths of the slots on either side of the guide roller determine the extent of pivotal movement of the guide roller, and both members 25, 30 are provided with a rubber sleeve 31, 32 which acts as a buffer or cushion between the respective member and the adjacent end of the slot 40 at each extreme pivotal movement of the guide roller. These members 25, 30 are also used as levers to effect controlled pivoting of the bracket and the guide roller and to set up an oscillating movement of the guide roller about the axis of the pivot spindle 14 during use of the winding apparatus. In this example, movement of the guide roller in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 1, is effected by a spring 19 fixed at one end to the lower end of the member or lever 30 and at the other end to a fixed bracket 33. Movement of the guide roller in a clockwise direction is etfected by the piston of an air jack 23 which piston is connected to the member or lever 25 by means of a piston rod 24. The air jack is supplied with air through a pipe 34. Also the cylinder of the air jack is pivotally fixed to an anchor post 35 (see FIGURES 1 and 3).

The means for controlling the supply of air to the air jack will now be described. Adjacent one end 20 of the guide roller 13 there is a bore 15 transverse to the longitudinal axis of the guide roller (see FIGURES 4 and 5) through which is discharged a stream of air supplied thereto from a longitudinal bore 16 extending to the said one end of the guide roller. The mouth of this longitudinal bore is threaded for connection to an air supply pipe 17. The air discharged from this bore 15 is directed at the mouth of a nozzle 27 connected to a pipe 28. This pipe 28 is connected to the aforesaid pipe 34 by means of a known form of diaphragm operated change-over valve 26. This valve is provided with an air supply pipe 36 which is allowed to connect with the pipe 34 leading to the air jack when the diaphragm is depressed by the pressure of air discharged from the bore through the nozzle 27 and along the pipe 28. Hence, in this example, depression of the diaphragm will effect contraction of the air jack and pivotal movement of the guide roller in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 1. Such pivotal movement of the guide roller will cause the towel to move along the length of the guide roller towards the end until the edge 18 of the towel lies between the bore 15 and the nozzle 27. The air pressure will then be removed from the diaphragm of the valve 26, the result being that the jack will then be allowed to extend and the guide roller pivoted in a counter-clockwise direction by means of the spring 19. The towel 12 will then move in the other direction towards the end 21 of the guide roller, this process being repeated by the oscillating movements of the guide roller, which oscillating :movements cause the towel to be wound up neatly onto the mandrel. The mandrel and roll of towel are then removable from the apparatus, as a unit, for subsequent separation.

The invention is not restricted to the specific features of the apparatus described above. For example, it would be possible to replace the single-acting air jack 23 and opposed spring 19 by a double-acting jack, or to mount the above described single-acting jack on the opposite side of the guide roller 13 from the opposed spring. Also, the guide roller 13 may be pivoted at one end and not at its centre. Furthermore, the extreme angle of inclination of the guide roller in either direction may be controlled by control of the stroke of the air jack as opposed to the lengths of the slots 40.

The invention is also not restricted to the winding of towels but may be used for the winding of any flexible strip material.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for winding a length of flexible sheet material into a roll comprising:

a mandrel onto which the sheet is to be wound;

means for rotating said mandrel;

a guide bar located in the path of the sheet and around which the sheet is deflected, said guide bar lying transversely to the path of the sheet; and

means for pivoting said guide bar about a fixed point in order to control the position along the length of said mandrel at which the sheet is wound thereon, said pivoting means comprising a single-acting air jack for pivoting said guide bar in one direction and spring means urging said guide bar towards the other direction.

2. Apparatus for winding a length of flexible sheet material into a roll comprising:

a mandrel onto which the sheet is to be wound;

means for rotating said mandrel;

a guide bar located in the path of the sheet and around which the sheet is deflected, said guide bar lying transversely to the path of the sheet; and

means for pivoting said guide bar about a fixed point in order to control the position along the length of said mandrel at which the sheet is wound thereon, said pivoting means including an air jack for pivoting said guide bar in one direction about the said fixed point, said jack being operated by a stream of air, emitted under pressure, through a radial hole in said guide bar, the path of said stream at least partially intersecting the path of the sheet at some time during the period that said guide bar is pivoted in the said one direction by said air jack, the said intersection cutting-off the air supply for operating said air jack and thereby allowing the state of said air jack to be changed and enabling said guide bar to be pivoted in the other direction.

3. Winding apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said guide bar is pivoted about a point intermediate its ends.

4. Winding apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said air jack is controlled by a diaphragm operated change-over valve.

5. Winding apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which the diaphragm of the said valve is air-operated and in which the path of the air supply for the said diaphragm at least partially intersects the path of the sheet being wound at some time during the period that said guide bar is pivoted in the said one direction by said air jack, the said intersection cutting-off the air supply for said diaphragm and thereby allowing the state of said air jack to be changed and said guide bar to be pivoted in the other direction by said spring means.

6. Winding apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which a part of the path of the air supply for said diaphragm comprises a bore in said guide bar, which bore is transverse to the longitudinal axis of said guide bar, and in which, during the said intersection the mouth of said bore is at least partially covered by the sheet being wound.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,894,702 7/1959 Heath et al 24276 2,989,265 6/1961 Selsted 24276 NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner. 

